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Tink observed the man quietly, suspicion arcing wildly between the neurons in her brain. Was it the scinentist who summoned them?

Brown stood and squinted at the new blurry spot in the distant churchyard.

"Put the gun down, Sir," Typhon said to Callan. "Someone's appearance is no excuse to judge them."

Naomi backed away from the newcomer, her shotgun in her hand but not raised.

"Are there more coming," the Ghoul said. It was apparently a question, though he used no intonation to mark the phrase as such.

"Who are you?" Callan asked, without lowering the pistol.

"I'm here to take you to him," the Ghoul replied. His way of speaking was odd. It sounded as if he couldn't hear himself.

Callan lowered his pistol. "Who is 'he'?" he asked. The Ghoul didn't respond.

Somehow, Tinker felt sure that the odd ghoul wouldn't harm her. For the paranoid teen, it was quite the leap of faith.

Taking short, uncertain steps, she approached the newcomer.

"You expect to just trust you?" asked Faust.

"Unlike some of you, he isn't waving a fricking gun around like an idiot." Tink scathingly snapped over her shoulder.

The Ghoul abruptly turned his head and fixated Faust with his cold eyes, as if waiting for something. He didn't seem to have heard what the other ghoul had said.

Naomi didn't get closer, and kept a hand on her shotgun. The others could handle the conversation; all she had to do was be ready to shoot just in case.

Aella approached the ghoul, pushing off Typhon's huge hand that tried to stop her.

"Well... lead the way." She said when she was only feet away from him.

The ghoul nodded, and turned around, walking east.

At a crossroads on the way, another ghoul joined them, this one female. Apart from the differences in body structure, she looked exactly like the other one. This one wouldn't speak at all, but unlike the male, she kept glancing over her back, observing the others. Her eyes were the same as her brother's; cold and calculating. They certainly didn't make the others feel comfortable.

--

After about 15 minutes of walking, the group stopped in front of a house that seemed in better repair than all the others in the city.

"Inside," the male ghoul said.

In for a penny, in for a pound. Tink thought, heading inside.

"My mother almost told me not to go into a stranger's house." said Faust. He went in anyway still holding his shotgun.

When Brown saw the group start to leave the churchyard heading in the opposite direction, he quickly left the courthouse and followed. He had almost caught up when they stopped at a house and starting entering. He joined the back of the group, rifle in hand, as they filed inside.

Naomi shrugged and walked inside, shotgun at the ready and sniper rifle hanging at her tailbone.

After everyone was inside, the ghouls followed. The male one remained with the others, while the female one went into the basement. After a few minutes, the male ghoul nodded and lead everyone else down into the basement as well. There, they found a large metal hatch which the female ghoul had opened. Beneath was a ladder, and the male gestured for everyone to descend.

"Just follow the tunnel," he said from the top of the ladder, and then threw the hatch shut. The tunnel became completely dark.

Brown turned on his Pip-Boy light.

Tink cautiously descended the ladder.

The party progressed through the tunnel, with what little light they could produce. After what seemed like hours of stumbling into each other and falling on their faces, they finally saw a glimmer of light ahead of them.

They exited the tunnel into what seemed to be a huge warehouse made of concrete. Various items were lying around in piles, terminals were humming on desks. The building was big, and the party couldn't see everything from where they were standing. Before they got a chance to move and explore the warehouse, a voice sounded from behind a large pile of old car engines.

"Ah, finally! People have answered my plea!"

A short, chubby man wearing small, round glasses and a receeding hairline walked out from behind the pile. The ghouls, who had somehow gotten there before the others, followed close behind.

Tink looked around, shocked. "Whoa, look at this place!" she said, before reddening at her rudeness. "Umm... Hello, Mr."

"Let's just get down to business." said Faust.

"The forward type, I see," the chubby man said, looking at Faust.

"Good, that is good I suppose." He nervously cleared his throat.

"My name is Professor Bartholomew Cubbins, or just Professor Cubbins for short. Please refrain from calling me Bart, as I find that name to be...I would rather avoid getting into details. I trust you have all received my transmission?"

He looked at the group with anticipation.

Tink nodded firmly.